Cross-play on dedicated game servers

Only some games let console players join a dedicated server that you rent or run, and the ones that do all attach conditions. Valheim (Steam with Xbox and the Microsoft Store), Palworld (Steam, Xbox, PlayStation 5 and Mac on recent versions), ARK: Survival Ascended, Arma Reforger and Space Engineers are the common examples of PC-console cross-play on self-hosted servers. Minecraft splits into Java and Bedrock, which only meet through a bridge such as Geyser. Many popular server games - Rust, DayZ, Project Zomboid, Counter-Strike 2, FiveM, Garry's Mod - have no PC-console cross-play on community servers at all, though several support cross-play between PC stores such as Steam and Epic or GOG. Where cross-play exists, it usually means console players join through the platform's relay or a join code rather than an IP address, cannot use client mods, and are identified by a different kind of player ID.

Everything in this area changes with game updates. The table below reflects what the games' own documentation and patch notes said at the time of writing; check the current notes before you buy or promise anything to your players.

The three things people mean by cross-play#

"Cross-play" covers three different arrangements, and a game can support one without the others.

• Cross-store on PC. Steam, Epic, GOG, the Microsoft Store and standalone copies of the same game playing together. Common and usually painless: Factorio, Satisfactory and Terraria are examples.
• PC with console. Xbox or PlayStation players on the same server as PC players. Rarer, because console platforms require certification, restrict networking and forbid most mods.
• Cross-edition. Two different versions of a game, such as Minecraft Java and Bedrock. These are separate games with separate protocols, and they only meet through translation software.

When a game's store page says "cross-play", it usually means one of these between official or first-party servers, not necessarily your own dedicated server. Hosting rules are often stricter than matchmaking rules.

How console players actually reach a dedicated server#

A PC player can type 203.0.113.10:2456 and connect. Console players usually cannot. Console games generally have no free-text field for a server address, so they find servers another way:

The broker in the middle is run by the game's developer or the platform, not by you or your host. It decides whether the server appears, and for relayed games it also carries the traffic. That is why a console-facing server can be perfectly healthy and still unreachable when the backend has a bad day, and why the fix is sometimes simply waiting. The common methods are:

• A join code that the server prints at startup and the player types in. Valheim works this way on crossplay servers, and its traffic is relayed through Microsoft's PlayFab service rather than sent directly to your port.
• An in-game server list that a console can browse, fed by the game's own backend. Palworld, ARK: Survival Ascended and Arma Reforger work broadly this way.
• Featured or partner servers only. Minecraft Bedrock on consoles shows a fixed list of featured servers and has no "add server" option, which is why community Bedrock servers rely on workarounds for console players.

The consequence for hosting: the server has to register with the game's backend correctly, the backend has to be up, and the relay (if there is one) adds latency. A cross-play server that works perfectly for PC players by IP can still be invisible to consoles because a setting, a port or the backend is wrong.

Game by game#

Rust and DayZ catch people out: both exist on console, and both are separate games for hosting purposes. A PC server for either will never see a console player.

Valheim

The -crossplay launch flag opens the server to Xbox and Microsoft Store players. Crossplay servers are joined with a six-digit code printed in the log, or through the community list, and traffic goes through PlayFab. The costs: a little extra latency for everyone, and player IDs with platform prefixes such as Steam_ and Xbox_ in the admin and ban lists. Xbox players cannot install mods, so a crossplay server must stay vanilla or use only server-side mods. Valheim's server guide has the flag and the ID format, and Valheim crossplay and Xbox players goes into the trade-offs.

Palworld

Recent Palworld dedicated servers have a CrossplayPlatforms option in PalWorldSettings.ini that lists which platforms may join, for example CrossplayPlatforms=(Steam,Xbox,PS5,Mac). The option and the list of platforms have changed across updates, so match the key to your server's version - Palworld server settings covers the file. Console players depend on the in-game server list or an invite rather than a typed address, and the usual mod caveat applies.

ARK: Survival Ascended and Arma Reforger

Both let you choose which platforms a server accepts. In ASA it is a launch option; in Arma Reforger it is the platform list in the server's config.json. Both support mods on console through their own mod services, with restrictions on what a console can load, so a cross-play mod list needs mods that are published for every platform you allow. ARK is not a game RE:NODE sells; ARK: Survival Ascended server setup covers it on any host.

Minecraft Java and Bedrock

Java Edition and Bedrock Edition are different games. Bedrock runs on Windows, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and mobile and cross-plays between all of them; Java runs on PC only. A Bedrock Dedicated Server takes Bedrock players from every platform, but consoles can only open featured servers from the menu, so console players reach community servers through workarounds such as joining via a friend list or a DNS redirect - these exist, they work, and they break when the platforms change something.

To put Bedrock players on a Java server, run Geyser and Floodgate on Paper: Geyser translates the protocol on an extra UDP port, and Floodgate lets them in without a Java account. Geyser and Floodgate has the setup and the list of things that do not translate. Bedrock vs Java hosting helps decide which edition to host at all.

7 Days to Die and Space Engineers

Both added PC-console play on dedicated servers after their console releases, and both impose conditions on the server: typically anti-cheat on, no client-side mods, and settings within limits the console version supports. These conditions have changed between versions, so read the current server configuration notes rather than an older guide. 7 Days to Die server settings covers the configuration file.

Before you switch it on: a checklist#

Cross-play is a decision for the whole community, not a setting to flip on a whim, because it changes which mods you can run and how moderation works. Before turning it on, answer these:

1. Who actually needs it? Count the console players who would join. One friend on Xbox is a good reason; a hypothetical future audience is not.
2. Which mods would you give up? List every mod players install themselves. Each one either goes, or the console players cannot join.
3. Where do IDs come from? Find out what the server logs for each platform, so admin and ban lists can be written correctly from day one.
4. How will console players be told the address? A join code that changes on restart, a server name to search for, an invite - write it into the pinned connection instructions.
5. What happens on patch day? Decide whether the server updates immediately or waits for console clients, and tell players which.

If the answers are "nobody yet", "most of them" and "we have not thought about it", leave cross-play off and revisit it when a real console player asks. Turning it on later is usually a launch-option change and a restart; turning it off after console players have built half the world is a harder conversation.

Mods and cross-play do not mix well#

Consoles do not let players install arbitrary files. That single fact shapes every cross-play server:

• Client mods rule out console players. If a mod must be installed on each player's machine, console players cannot join. Valheim makes this explicit; elsewhere the join simply fails.
• Server-side mods usually work. Backups, admin tools, chat bridges and anything that only changes the server's own logic are invisible to the client.
• Platform mod services are the exception. ARK: Survival Ascended and Arma Reforger distribute mods through services consoles can use, but only mods published for those platforms.

Decide which you want before you open the server: a modded PC community, or a vanilla cross-play one. Trying to be both produces a server where console players are second-class, and they notice. Running a modded server for friends covers the PC-only modded path.

Admin, bans and player IDs#

On a PC-only Steam server, a player is a SteamID64. On a cross-play server, players come from several identity systems, and the server's lists reflect that.

• Admin and ban lists may need a platform prefix, a different ID format per platform, or an ID from the game's own account system (such as an Epic Online Services ID). Copy the ID the server logs when the player joins rather than guessing the format.
• Bans can be weaker across platforms: a banned player may return on another platform with a different ID, so note all known IDs for a problem player.
• Console players often cannot use text chat easily, which matters for rules that rely on chat. Voice and in-game emotes become the main channels.
• Some tools that read Steam profiles or ban histories only cover Steam players.

None of this is a reason to avoid cross-play. It is a reason to write down IDs at join time and to keep your moderation process in Discord, where every player is a Discord account regardless of platform. Handling cheaters and ban lists covers the moderation side.

Latency, relays and the server's location#

Relayed cross-play adds a hop. Valheim crossplay traffic goes through PlayFab rather than directly to your server; other games broker the connection and then connect directly. A relay that is far from both the players and the server adds noticeably more delay than one nearby.

Two practical points. First, the server's own location still matters most: a server in Germany suits European players on any platform, whatever the relay does. Choosing where your server lives and game server ping by region cover what to expect further away. Second, if your group is all on PC, leave cross-play off where it is optional. You lose nothing and save the relay.

On RE:NODE, Valheim servers come with crossplay already on, because enough groups include an Xbox or Game Pass player that it is the safer default. If yours does not, turn it off on the Startup tab.

Troubleshooting cross-play#

PC players can join, console players cannot see the server. The server is not registering with the platform's backend for consoles. Check the cross-play setting for your version, that the server is set to public where the game requires it, and the log for registration errors. Some games take several minutes to list a new server.

Console players see the server but fail to connect. A version mismatch is the usual cause: consoles receive updates on a different schedule after certification, so a server updated on patch day may be ahead of console clients for a day or two.

Console players are kicked on join. The server runs a mod that requires a client install, or anti-cheat is off on a game that requires it for console players.

The join code changed. On Valheim it changes on every restart. Post the new one, or have players use the server list.

Admin commands do not work for a console player. Their ID in the admin list is in the wrong format. Take it from the server log.

FAQ#

Can Xbox and PC players play on the same dedicated server?

In some games, yes - Valheim, Palworld, ARK: Survival Ascended, Arma Reforger and Space Engineers among them, each with conditions. Many server games, including Rust, DayZ, Project Zomboid and CS2, keep PC and console players separate.

Can PlayStation players join my Minecraft server?

PlayStation runs Bedrock Edition, which shows only featured servers in its menu. They can reach a Bedrock or Geyser-enabled Java server through workarounds such as friend-list or DNS-based joining tools, which work but can break when the platform changes.

Does cross-play make the server slower?

The server itself does not work harder. Games that relay console traffic, such as Valheim's crossplay mode, add a hop and some latency for players. If nobody in the group is on console, leave cross-play off where it is optional.

Can I use mods on a cross-play server?

Server-side mods usually work. Mods that players must install themselves exclude console players, who cannot install files. ARK: Survival Ascended and Arma Reforger are exceptions, with mod services that reach consoles for mods published for them.

Why do console players fail to join right after a game update?

Console updates go through platform certification and can arrive later than the PC patch. A server that updated immediately may be on a newer version than console clients for a short time. Hold the update or tell players to wait.

Is cross-play the same as cross-progression?

No. Cross-play means players on different platforms share a server. Cross-progression means one player's characters or saves follow them between platforms, which depends on the game's account system and is separate from where the server runs.